Owners of the Plant Vogtle expansion project said Tuesday that they had reached a new, non-binding agreement with struggling Japanese conglomerate Toshiba, the parent company of the former primary Vogtle contractor Westinghouse Electric Company, that would allow them to receive all the remaining scheduled payments from Toshiba by Dec. 15, 2017.

In a statement issued Monday, Oglethorpe, Co-owner of the Vogtle expansion project said the Japanese conglomerate agreed to pay “all the remaining scheduled payments … in the amount of $3.2 billion” before the end of the year.

The deal only becomes binding with approval granted by Toshiba’s board of directors and by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), the companies said.

Nevertheless, Oglethorpe President and Chief Executive Officer Mike Smith called the arrangement “a very positive development that will provide a significant payment upfront to help cover our portion of the costs to complete Vogtle Units 3 and 4.”

Georgia Power noted that it had already received $455 million from Toshiba and its share of the $3.2 billion forthcoming was $1.47 billion.  Oglethorpe’s has already received $136.5 million and its share of the payment is $967.5 million.